Artist: Tom Middleton
Title: Renaissance 3D
Label: Renaissance Recordings
By: Ryan Simoneau | 31 May 2008
Tracklist:
  1. Kenny Hawkes & David Parr - Gemini
  2. Funk D'Void featuring Jay Leblone -Lovin' (Your Body Remix)
  3. Rhythm Plate - Remember The Days
  4. Hipp-e - Fade (Palm Skin Productions Smooth Edit)
  5. Shur-I-Kan & Milton Jackson - Swap Shop (Shur-i-Kan's Swaparama Dub)
  6. Mike Acetate & Carlos Gibbs featuring Roy Davis Jr - Jus’ Move (Jimpster Mix)
  7. Mona Lisa - Dancin' (1200 Warriors NYC Mix)
  8. Ben Watt - Lone Cat (Dennis Ferrer & Steve Martinez Special Re-Dub)
  9. Mood II Swing featuring Tara J - Passing Time (Original Mix)
  10. Groove Armada - Love Sweet Sound (Mark Knight & Funkagenda's R.H.B Remix)
  11. Mari Boine - Vuoi Vuoi Me (Henrik Schwarz Mix)
  12. Aya - Sean (Eric's 2WFU Dub)
  13. Trackheadz - Our Music
  14. The Timewriter Introducing Sid Thomson - Life Is Just A Timeless Motion
  15. James Zabiela - Human (Intro Mix)
  16. Artec - Nine Times The Speed Of Sound
  17. Wink - Swirl
  18. Slg - Nine Hours
  19. Simian Mobile Disco - Clock

Tom Middleton "Renaissance 3D"

Out Now on Renaissance Recordings

There are mixes and then there are Tom Middleton mixes. The Jedi himself really needs no introduction as he’s been one of the electronic scene’s ambassadors since the early 90’s. Along the way he teamed up with Mark Pritchard to form Global Communication, where they dropped the ambient classic “76:14” and has since gone on to release the now classic triple mix album “The Sound of the Cosmos” and more recently two installments in “The Trip” series. Now he’s back to follow in Satoshi Tomiie and Faithless’ footsteps in Renaissance’s “3D” mix series.

For fans of “The Sound of the Cosmos”, this is the album they’ve been waiting for with Tom getting the chance to spread his wings on three discs once again. Unlike on that album, which featured three separate mixes, titled "Rhythm", "Melody" and "Harmony" respectively, Tom gets two mixes here with the third being an unmixed disc of his own productions and remixes.

“The Sound of the Cosmos” was for me what many people found in Sasha & Digweed’s seminal masterpiece “Renaissance: The Mix Collection”. I remember being blown away by all three discs, as they featured one of breaks, another of deep house and a third of chilled out selections. All were seamlessly mixed and his choices were packed full of both the obscure and well known but all were truly timeless. To this day, I still rank that as my number one mix album.

So it was with great enthusiasm and expectation when I put the first disc in my player. Tom himself has said this is his unofficial follow-up to “The Sound of the Cosmos” and I was anxious to hear what he had cooked up this time.

The first disc, entitled “Club”, is just that, a snapshot of what you might hear Tom playing when you see him DJ. Much like the “Melody” disc on “The Sound of the Cosmos”, this disc is packed full of summery, deep house grooves. Heavy on melody and low on filler, Tom gets down to business right from the start with his “This is the sound of the Cosmos…” intro. From there, we are treated to a top tune by Kenny Hawkes and David Parr called “Gemini.” It’s got a fantastic driving melody that makes you want to get up and dance instantly and it even has some killer cowbells rockin’ in the background. This seamlessly shifts into “Lovin’” by Funk D'Void before he brings back “Gemini” over the last half of the track, which really gels well with “Lovin”.

Tom stays deep with nice cuts by the likes of Hipp-E, Shur-I-Kan and Ben Watt before giving way to the massive Mark Knight and Funkagenda remix of Groove Armada’s “Love Sweet Sound”. This track kicks the mix up a notch while also staying true to the deep sound that Tom has established. I dare you to sit still with this bassline behind you! Henrik Schwarz’s mix of Mari Boine’s “Vuoi Vuoi Mui” is next, which to be honest, isn’t my favorite thing he’s done but it works in the mix. The next track though, “Sean” by Aya is one of the mixes standouts though. Another super deep bassline bounces along with a shimmering summer melody that is the perfect fit for any sunset inspired listening. It’s here where I feel Tom should have brought the mix to a close but instead he opts to pick back up the tempo into more electro stylings from James Zabiela and Wink, which I feel ruin the flow of the mix. I understand that he had to condense his club set and wanted to show some of the “harder” tracks he plays out but it just didn’t work for me. Last few tracks aside, it’s still a top mix but it doesn’t beat the house disc on “The Sound of the Cosmos” however it’s very similar and should rock your stereo in the coming summer months.

The “Studio” disc provides a small window into Tom’s massive production portfolio. Because he has remixed and produced so many tracks, this disc was going to be up for the most scrutiny especially among his legion of diehard fans. Considering this disc is unmixed for digital DJs, this decision apparently also caused some flack within the dance community. Personally, I like this option but because the tracks are full length, it does limit the amount of tunes Renaissance was able to put on this disc. Tom’s now-classic “Take Me With You” kicks things off in a new re-edit form and it still sounds smokin’. His remix for Sarah McLachlan, here retitled “Lost Inside”, is next and is also a great tune. A couple of Tom’s old Modwheel tracks make appearances as well but these do feel a bit dated. His remix of Lamb’s “What Sound” is here, still fantastic but also very easily accessible and some fans were a bit disappointed this was on here. It’s a great remix and deserves to be heard by as many people as possible so I have no problem with the inclusion. Tom’s recent reworking of Francois DuBois' “Blood” is here and represents his newest remix but I would have liked to have seen some more variety here. All of these tunes are 4/4 in nature and it would have been nice to hear some of stylistically different remixes. Not bad by any means but Tom's musical diversity should have been better represented.

The third disc, “Home” is always where Tom excels the most and this is the one I most anticipated. Tom’s “Harmony” disc on “The Sound of the Cosmos” was one of the finest chillout albums I had ever heard. Before that I was so jaded on the genre, I figured all chillout tunes must be the same. How wrong I was and Tom showed me the way. This disc really is a continuation from the club disc as the first few tunes carry on a similar vibe before he branches off into more traditional downtempo territory. Just about every tune is fantastic, aside from one disapointing R & B number that felt out of place. But that’s Mr Middleton for you, always keeping the listener guessing. From house classics such as Orbital’s "Halcyon" to downtempo masterpieces (such as Alucidnation’s “Pedal Steal”, Tom Middleton mixes up the kind of tunes you wish you had discovered. And thankfully, now you can.

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